Are you stuck with a subscription or membership you no longer wish to pay for? The Federal Trade Commission’s new “click to cancel” rule, which is set to go into effect on Tuesday, could provide some relief.

However, the viability of this rule is already uncertain. Businesses will not need to comply until May 14, and the “click to cancel” regulation is facing increasing legal and political obstacles.

“It’s a long time for courts to either rule or for the FTC to choose not to enforce it or to make a different decision,” remarked Teresa Murray, consumer watchdog director at Public Interest Research Group, to YSL News.

Introduced in October, the rule mandates that companies must make it just as simple to cancel a service as it was to sign up for it. Furthermore, businesses need to obtain consent for subscriptions, auto-renewals, and free trials that turn into paid memberships.

Approximately 20 states and Washington already have laws regarding automatic renewal with similar stipulations.

FTC ‘click to cancel’ rule encountering legal challenges

Various industry and trade organizations argue that the “click to cancel” rule imposes excessive demands on businesses, leading them to file lawsuits to prevent the FTC from enforcing it.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce labeled the regulation as “yet another misuse of power by a Commission intent on micromanaging the economy and jeopardizing American free enterprise.”

“This regulation would discourage businesses from offering fair, consumer-friendly subscriptions, resulting in fewer choices for Americans, increased prices, and more obstacles,” the chamber stated in a release.

Could the Trump administration overturn the ‘click to cancel’ rule?

The “click to cancel” rule may also find itself in a politically precarious position soon.

The FTC’s approval of the new regulation came with a split vote along party lines. Seen as part of President Joe Biden’s initiative against “junk fees,” it passed 3-2, with both Republican commissioners voting against it.

If the Trump administration retakes power, the FTC is anticipated to adopt a “lighter touch” concerning consumer protection matters, as noted in analysis from the Morrison Foerster law firm.

New leadership at the agency could drastically alter the fate of “click to cancel,” since the chair of the FTC can initiate or discontinue investigations without needing a commissioner vote.

Andrew Ferguson, an FTC commissioner and Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the agency, has criticized much of the rule-making agenda set forth by Chair Lina Khan. Ferguson indicated he voted against “click to cancel” because it was introduced during a transitional period.

The regulation could also be limited or repealed through the normal rulemaking process.

“While such actions might not occur immediately, it is possible that the new Trump administration could choose not to enforce the Final Rule after President Trump takes office,” the Morrison Foerster analysis noted.

Consumers frustrated with hard-to-cancel subscriptions

Some subscriptions can be canceled easily with just a few clicks or a phone call. However, when companies complicate the cancellation process, consumer advocates argue that people can find themselves facing monthly charges long after they no longer want or need a subscription or membership.

“We understand that signing up for subscriptions is incredibly straightforward, which indicates that the challenges of cancellation are not coincidental. They are a deliberate choice causing significant harm to consumers,” said Samuel Levine, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, during an interview with YSL News last year.

Complaints about difficult-to-cancel subscriptions have dramatically increased over the past few years. The FTC estimates it receives nearly 70 such complaints on a daily basis.

After the proposal of the rule last year, the FTC garnered thousands of comments from consumers reporting difficulties in canceling various services, from cable subscriptions to dietary supplement memberships.

The FTC regulation “forbids companies from ‘misrepresenting any significant fact while marketing products or services,’ failing to disclose necessary information before requesting payment information, neglecting to obtain a consumer’s permission before charging, and failing to make it ‘easy’ to cancel a subscription,” stated Murray from PIRG. “What’s wrong with these practices for businesses?”